


H.O.A.cus Pocus

by ElleRen31



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Halloween, Language, Neighbors, Sexual Content, decorations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:53:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26955406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleRen31/pseuds/ElleRen31
Summary: "The house had recently sold, a single large U-Haul having been seen occupying the driveway just last weekend. But trading introductions and pleasantries could not wait any longer. The neighborhadto be warned before it was too late. The H.O.A. President was a giant dick."Rey Johnson has moved into an up and coming neighbourhood and begins to decorate for the upcoming Halloween holiday, much to the dismay of the H.O.A. President Ben Solo, who lives directly across the street.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 95
Kudos: 271
Collections: Fall Fic Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JadedWarrior](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedWarrior/gifts).



> Thank you to 'JadedWarrior' for your wonderful Fall prompts!
> 
> (Author is both proud and ashamed at the title of this story.)

Based on the prompt: By the book HOA President Ben has to reprimand the new-to-the-neighbourhood Rey over her excessive Halloween Decor.

><

“You talk to her.”

“No, _you_ talk to her.”

“This was your idea.”

“The brownies were my idea. Everything else was all you.”

“Well _someone_ needs to tell her. Go and talk to her!”

“What the hell am I even supposed to say? Howdy ho there neighbor! Welcome to the neighborhood! I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

“Howdy ho there neighbor? Finn – no one says that. Come on, get real.”

“I don’t know! I’m no good at these things.”

A sigh. “Fine. Let’s make this quick. Paige will be waking up from her nap soon anyways.”

A husband and wife emerge from the open garage of their craftsman style home. The wife is a petite Asian, her dark hair cut in blunt bob. She holds a saranwrap covered plate of freshly baked brownies tightly in her hands to make sure she doesn’t drop it. Her husband briskly follows her, his skin dark and his black hair shaved in a military style.

They follow the sidewalk towards the house next door, another craftsman – just like so many other homes in the neighborhood suburbs of Chandrila Heights, Pennsylvania. The houses all seemed to mimic one another with only slight differences between them, be it the color of the siding or the location of the garage. For example, their house was cream with the garage on the left side, while their neighbors house was a light baby blue with the garage on the right side. With its location only minutes from shopping and dining, as well as being located within the second highest rated school district in the Yavin county area, Hydian Way was a rapidly growing community.

The house had recently sold, a single large U-Haul having been seen occupying the driveway just last weekend. But the busy life of a new parent leaves little time for mingling with your closest of friends and even less for greeting your new neighbor. But trading introductions and pleasantries could not wait any longer. The neighbor _had_ to be warned before it was too late.

The H.O.A. President here was a giant dick.

Finn had spied the woman through the kitchen window, exiting her garage with a large cardboard box in her arms. He did not think anything of it at first. After all, she had just moved in. But then he saw what she started pulling out of the box and he went straight to his wife, Rose.

Rose decided immediately they had to say something. If three years and four next door neighbors later had taught them anything, it was that the house next door was cursed. It was their duty – nay, their right – to let this poor woman know exactly what she was up against, and to stop her before things went too far.

As Finn and Rose approached the house, they could hear music coming from an Amazon ‘Alexa’ Bluetooth speaker that was perched on one of the porch railings. The woman is standing on a step ladder at the far end of the porch, softly singing along as she strings a line of plastic pumpkin lights along the awning. She holds a staple gun in one hand, methodically measuring out the light cord between punches so that the lights are hung in a scalloped pattern.

Rose takes a fist and knocks it against the wood of the porch railing. “Knock knock!” She calls out cheerfully to the woman.

The woman looks over at them where they awkwardly stand at the bottom of her porch steps. She smiles and sets her staple gun down on the railing before descending the ladder steps and making her way over to them. Her brown hair is tied up in an odd style of three stacked buns and she wears an oversized red flannel button up paired with a fashionably ripped pair of jeans.

“Hi there!” Rose says as the woman approaches. “We haven’t formally introduced ourselves yet. I’m Rose Storm and this is my husband, Finn.” Rose gestures to Finn with a wave of her hand. Finn raises a hand and twists his wrist with a half wave. “We’re your next-door neighbors! I made brownies!” Rose blurts, shoving the plate towards the woman. “But don’t worry! There aren’t any nuts in them. I don’t know if you have any food allergies or not, I mean obviously - we just met you – so I just figured excluding nuts was the safest route.”

“Rose, sweetie. You’re rambling again.” Finn whispers to his wife.

The woman laughs as she takes the plate being offered to her, the sound of it ringing loudly over the lull of the music still coming from the nearby speaker. “That was very kind of you. Thank you! It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Rey Johnson.”

Rey has a British lilt to her voice and Rose is immediately enamored. “Oh my gosh, I _love_ your accent!” The tiny woman gushes. “Where are you from?”

“Dallas, Texas.”

“O-Oh…” Rose stammers, embarrassed.

“I’m just kidding! I’m from Westminster, just outside of London.”

Finn and Rose chuckle lightly at their neighbor’s joke. “I used to be stationed near Peckham.” Finn shares with Rey. “What brings you here? Work I assume?”

“Yes! I just got hired on as the lead software developer out at Black Spire Technologies.”

“That sounds exciting.” Rose says before making a point of looking up at the string of pumpkin lights swaying lightly in the autumn breeze. “So! Already decorating for Halloween I see.”

“Yup! Just getting started.”

Rose and Finn look at each other nervously.

“Just a piece of friendly advice.” Finn begins, taking a step closer to Rey and lowering his voice an octave. “I’d be careful with the decorations.”

Rey frowns at him. “Careful?” She echoes.

“You _do_ know who you live across the street from you, don’t you?” Rose whispers, nodding her head towards the house directly in front of Rey’s home. The landscaping is immaculate, the bushes trimmed just so, the stone edging along the flower beds matching the gray exterior of the home.

Rey shakes her head at her neighbors.

“It’s the President of the H.O.A.” Finn explains. “Dude is a massive asshole.”

“He nitpicks _everything._ Especially decorations.” Rose says, pointing a finger up at the pumpkin lights.

“But they’re just lights.”

Finn shakes his head at Rey. “It doesn’t matter. He can find a violation in pretty much anything.”

“After our daughter was born, our friends welcomed us home from the hospital with balloons tied to the mailbox. We had only been home for a day – a DAY – and he was already knocking at the door telling us we had to take them down. BALLOONS!” Rose complains. “Being a new parent is stressful enough. He had _no_ sympathy whatsoever.”

“Said they were a hazard to the postal carrier; can you believe that?”

“He even made Mrs. Lars cry once. She’s who lived here before you. Her children hand painted her a mailbox for her 70th birthday and he claimed it was two inches over the approved height and made her remove it.”

“And before that?” Rey asks.

“Before Mrs. Lars there was the Djarin family. The son would skateboard in the driveway.”

“He would just stand in his window and glare at the kid. They were gone six months later.”

“There was also the Syndulla family, and before that the Fulcrum’s – but they had already moved out by the time we moved in, so we’re not exactly sure what happened between them.”

“You can ask Mrs. Kanata about it if you want.” Rose adds. “She lives on the other side of you. She’s been here the longest out of everyone else on the street.”

Rey looks towards the house across the street, scrutinizing it with a narrow of her eyes. “Is he married?”

Finn and Rose shake their head.

“A girlfriend then?”

Another shake ‘no’.

“Sometimes some blonde woman shows up there but she’s always with this red headed guy whose face looks like he just stepped in dog shit.” Finn says with a shrug.

“Well see, that’s your problem.” Rey explains to the couple. “He’s single. He’s got too much time on his hands. Guy is probably just bored and gets his rocks off on making other people’s lives as miserable as his. Dude just needs to get laid.”

“I don’t know Rey.” Rose says, shaking her head once more. “He’s-“

“Oh shit, he’s home!”

The three neighbors turn their head just as a black Lexus RX is pulling into the driveway. The garage door opens but the Lexus doesn’t pull through. Instead, the brake lights flicker as the car is thrown into park and the driver side door opens. The man who exits is so tall he must duck his head as he slides out of the car.

“That’s him?” Rey asks Finn and Rose.

“Mmhmm.” Finn confirms with a nod.

“He doesn’t look so bad.” Rey replies with an intrigued cock of her head.

“Oh God, he’s coming over.”

The man walks down the length of his driveway, pausing to look both ways before crossing the street. His shoulders are broad, his hair dark as night. His long legs take him across the street in four long strides. As he approaches, Rey gets a better look at him. His pale elongated face is dotted with a spattering of beauty marks and moles. His plush lips are pursed under a Roman nose, his jaw clenched with tension. He is dressed in a charcoal gray dress shirt with a simple black tie and a pair of sleek black slacks, all devoid of any wrinkles or stains. His shoes even looked like they were polished daily.

“Mr. and Mrs. Storm.” The man says, acknowledging Finn and Rose with a stiff nod of his head.

“Hey there Ben!” Rose nervously says to him. “We were just meeting our new neighbor, Rey Johnson.” She stammers like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

There is a crackle from the baby monitor attached to Finn’s belt loop and the sound of faint fussing comes over the speaker.

“Just in time!” Finn exclaims with a sigh of relief.

Rose elbows Finn in the side and glares at him. Ben is now glaring as well. “Sounds like nap time is over so we need to be getting back.” Rose says to both Rey and Ben as she and Finn start backing up towards their house. “It was nice meeting you Rey! Enjoy the brownies! You can send the plate back anytime. Just leave it on the doormat if you need to. No rush. Okay byeeeeeee!” The Storms duck into their garage and the door quickly rumbles shut behind them.

“Ben is it?” Rey says, breaking the silence between them. Ben turns towards her, his dark brown eyes widening with shock. Perhaps she should have referred to him as ‘Mr. President’? She extends a hand to him. “I’m Rey. Looks like I’m your new neighbor as well.” She jokes.

Ben stares down at her outstretched hand, considering it. “I know who you are.” He says, accepting her hand in the briefest of handshakes. “As H.O.A. President, all new resident paperwork comes through to me.”

“Riiiight.” Rey says.

God, this guy is dull.

“Anyway, nice to meet you Ben. I’ve got to get back to my decorating.”

Rey turns to grab her staple gun off the porch railing when Ben interrupts.

“Have you by chance taken the time to review the H.O.A. guidelines, Ms. Johnson? Specifically, Section ‘C’, sub-section 3?”

Rey turns back to Ben sharply. “I’m sorry, sub-section what?”

“Sub-section 3. In regards to exterior additions.”

Rey crosses her arms. “I’m not familiar, no.” She admits, pursing her own lips in annoyance.

“The guidelines clearly state that any exterior additions, i.e. these _charming_ gourd lights, need H.O.A. approval prior to their installation.”

Rey blinks several times at Ben before snorting with laughter. “Did you just say the words ‘i.e.’ to me?” She asks.

“Excuse me?” Ben replies, his eyes narrowing.

“They’re decorations.” Rey vehemently explains. “They’re _temporary._ They’re not going to stay up there forever. It’s not like it’s a sconce. And these are _pumpkin_ lights, thank you very much.”

“Pumpkins _are_ a type of gourd.”

“Well _these_ -“ Rey waves a hand at the lights with the air of a ‘The Price Is Right’ model “- are obviously Jack O’ Lanterns.”

“Regardless what type of produce it is, any installation needs prior approval.” Ben repeats with a huff. “But seeing as you are new to the neighborhood, as long as you can assure me that the additions are indeed temporary, I’ll let this minor infraction slide.”

“Minor infraction?” Rey squawks.

“Yes.” Ben says, dead serious.

Rey glares at him. “And just how do you suggest I do that?” She asks, crossing her arms once more. “Would you like me to provide a ten-page document explaining the history of Halloween? A calendar to prove it only comes once a year?”

“I already have a calendar, thank you – but a signed document would suffice, though ten pages seems a bit excessive.”

“Oh my God, you can’t be serious.”

“I’m the H.O.A. President.”

“And I don’t care.” Rey snaps, pushing past him towards her garage.

“As a resident of Hydian Way, you are expected to follow the H.O.A. guidelines! You signed an _agreement_ when you moved in to abide by them!” Ben snaps back, stomping after her. He pauses outside her garage where she gathers up a large cardboard box. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Continuing with my decorating, what does it look like I’m doing?” Rey sasses as she walks past him. She drops the heavy box in her driveway and opens it, pulling out a long green extension cord and beginning to unravel it.

“What’s that for?” Ben asks as Rey begins dragging it across her lawn and up to the covered outlet mounted next to her front door.

“The inflatables of course.”

Ben nearly chokes. “Inflatables?” He fumes. “Do you realize that inflatables are a wind hazard?”

“What?”

“Inflatable decorations have a twenty seven percent chance of coming loose from their bearings. It might surprise you, Ms. Johnson, to learn that homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover damages caused by a loose inflatable.”

“Damage from an inflatable? Twenty seven percent? What are you? Some type of numbers nerd?”

“I’m an actuary.”

“A _what_?”

“An actuary.” Ben repeats. “I deal with risk management. I assess the probability of liabilities for major insurance companies and several prominent businesses.” He puffs out his wide chest with pride, making his shoulders appear even larger.

“Oh. So, a numbers nerd.”

“I HAVE A MASTERS DEGREE IN ACTUARIAL SCIENCE!” Ben suddenly yells, his face now a bright red.

Jackpot.

Mr. Tall and Stuffy was beginning to crack.

Rey had dealt with men like him before back in London. Bossy bigwigs with sticks shoved up their ass. Men offended by the mere the idea that a woman could be better than them. A dominant male seeking complete control and getting off on power trips.

She knew how to deal with these types of men. After all, software engineering was a male dominated field of work. She had spent the last ten years working her way up through the ranks to where she was today, encountering several of these men along the way. And if there was one thing that she learned; it was how to gain the upper hand.

“My apologies Ben.” Rey says, dusting her hands off on her faded jeans with the ripped knees. “It _is_ all right that I call you Ben? Is there another name you’d prefer? Your surname perhaps?”

Ben’s face was slowly returning to its normal pallor. “It’s Solo. But… Yes. Ben is fine.”

“Good. Ben.” Rey repeats, taking a step towards the towering man. She tilts her face up to his and gives him her best innocent doe eyes. “Tell you what. I’ll write up the formal documentation you’ve requested, and we can just forget all about this…. Shall we say, heated exchange?” She waves her hand around in a carefree gesture. “You _must_ forgive me. After all – I never had the _pleasure_ of being part of an H.O.A. when I lived across the pond.”

“Yes I… I can tell you’re from abroad.” Ben stammers as Rey takes another step closer to him. “Yes.” He repeats. “I hadn’t considered the fact you may be unfamiliar with the H.O.A. process.”

“Yes.” She raises a hand and reaches for his tie, lifting it slightly and gently rubbing the soft silk between her thumb and index finger as if examining the quality. “Thank you, Ben.” She says as she lets go of the tie, the fabric falling back against Ben’s tight torso. “So… When would you like your signed document?” She looks up at him again, batting her eyelashes.

Ben’s mouth flounders open for several seconds before he snaps it shut and loudly clears his throat. “First thing in the morning will be fine Ms. Johnson.” He looks around them at her yard, the cardboard boxes of decorations still half unpacked. “I’ll uh… I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Just make sure any… _Inflatables_ -“ He looked pained as he spoke the word. “- are securely fastened.”

“I’ll get right on that.” Rey assured him with a sickly-sweet smile.

Ben turns on his heel and walks briskly back across the street to his house. He gets in his car and pulls it into the awaiting open garage.

“Alexa.” Rey speaks up with a grin as the door of Ben’s garage slowly lowers. The blue light of the speaker illuminates, the device waiting her next command. “Play ‘Dirty Deeds’.”

“ _Now playing, ‘Dirty Deeds’ by AC/DC._ ” chirped the speaker.

If there were _two_ things that Rey had learned, the second was how to play dirty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JadedWarrior - You asked for snarky dialogue sooooo...
> 
> (Thanks for all the Kudos thus far!)

><

“Just who does this woman think she is?”

No one answers him.

Of course no one does. Because Ben Solo is talking to himself, alone in his house and peering out his living room blinds like a no-good stalker at the neighbor across the street.

The lumpy fabric of the deflated decorations she was so hellbent on setting up lie resting on her lawn as she tactfully connects them to their power source. He had to commend her on how she had used plastic pedestrian covers over the exposed length of extension cord that trails from the porch to the center of her yard where the offending décor is set up. He watches her, her behind up in the air as she kneels to adhere electrical tape to the cords on her porch floor.

He can feel his heartbeat racing, so he holds two fingers to the pulse point under his chin and times the beats while staring down at his Breitling watch. Yes, his heartbeat was definitely up. And speaking of up, the fabrics in the yard were beginning to rustle as they filled with air, slowly rising to their full sizes.

Rey moves from the porch down to the decorations, picking up one of the cardboard boxes along the way. She kneels in the grass this time, anchoring the form of Jack Skellington first before moving onto the witch’s cauldron. She stands up, brushing the yellowing grass from her knees before placing her hands on her hips as she admires her handiwork. She looks pleased with herself, pausing only to offer a cheeky smile and a wave at Ben through his window.

“Shit.” Ben whispers as he steps back from the window, immediately reaching for the cord to the blinds and promptly shutting them.

He walks away from the windows, grumbling to himself. When he had agreed to be the H.O.A. President, begrudgingly mind you, he never imagined that someone would so blatantly push back against such established rules. Regardless, the lingering question continues to nag at him.

_Who does this woman think she is???_

When the new neighbor had showed up barely two weeks ago, Ben had watched silently from afar as the movers unloaded the U-Haul. He knew little from her H.O.A. paperwork, mainly that she was single and had recently moved here from England, a photocopied picture of her work visa having been provided. He should have gone out there when she first moved in, introducing himself formally and perhaps avoiding the disaster that was this afternoon.

Ben was never good with making friends. The few he did have were actually his co-workers, Gwendolyn Phasma and Armitage Hux, insurance agents for the First Order consulting firm. They’d come over on occasion for drinks with the intent to wind down and relax from work, but business always ended up the topic of the evening. Gwen had attempted on multiple occasions to set him up with some of her friends but his track record with repeat dates was poor. Ben was exceptionally good with numbers, so he knew that his chances of being successful in the dating world had a low percentage, so over time he just slowly gave up.

God, he really was turning into his Uncle, wasn’t he? His Uncle had been the previous H.O.A. President up until he got married at the ripe age of 64 and moved across the country to the arid deserts of Arizona with his new wife. The position had transferred then to his favorite and only nephew after an overwhelming 100% of the vote of the H.O.A. council approved the idea. Was this what Ben’s life was destined to be? Monitoring yard decorations, paint colors, and fence heights for the rest of his days? And now Ms. Johnson was in the picture, determined to make his side job just as difficult as his real one.

True to her word, Ben finds a simple hand addressed letter tucked under the rolled-up newspaper on his doormat in the morning. He tucks the newspaper under his arm as he glances up across the street towards Rey’s house. Ben can feel his blood begin to boil at the eye-sore that is the deflated carcasses of the inflatables, lying like carelessly discarded clothes in the center of her yard.

Grumbling, he turns his attention to the letter. His name is scrawled on the envelope in a manner that is neither messy nor elegant. He tears open the envelope and pulls out the single sheet of paper inside, unfolding it in order to read a single printed sentence.

‘I can do what I want.

-Rey’

Ben angrily lowers the paper with a snap, just as the garage door across the street begins to open. A gray Nissan Rogue backs out of the driveway. Once in the street, he can see Rey inside as she pulls the car out of reverse and into drive. She looks over at him through her window, cheerfully smiling and waving at him like she was the Queen of England in a carriage procession before peeling off down the street with a rev of her engine.

“Son of a-“ Ben snarls, unable to bring himself to curse his neighbor any further. He crushes the paper in his fist and storms back inside his house.

Hours later when he arrives home from work, a third inflatable has appeared in the yard – this one a matching neon green Oogie Boogie to compliment the already established Jack. The following day a Snoopy popping out of a giant pumpkin and a second set of extension cords have been added.

It was obvious Rey’s workday began and ended before his, the cunning young woman having taken advantage of his absence in order to add to her already distressing ensemble of décor. He enters his home Wednesday night after another tedious day of work, tossing his car keys into the ceramic bowl on the kitchen island as he walks past. Tugging the black tie around his neck loose, he approaches his fridge and pulls it open and takes out the gallon of milk, setting it on the counter. He pours himself a tall glass, gulping it down as he angrily eyes the crumpled letter from Rey that is mounted on the fridge door with a magnet for his favorite Chinese takeout restaurant.

As he drives home through the neighborhood at the weeks end he ends up slamming on his brakes in order to angrily stare at a house two streets over who seems to have taken Rey’s courage to decorate as a call to arms, or to decorate in this matter. An inflatable Grim Reaper taunts him as he slowly drives away, his hands gripping at the steering wheel with white knuckles. He slams his car door shut after arriving home, starring daggers out the open garage door at the four characters across the street as they gently bob and sway in the autumn breeze. Rey Johnson may think she can do whatever she wants, but he’s the H.O.A. President. And he’ll be damned if he lets this one woman ruin the pristine neighborhood he’s worked so hard to achieve.

When Ben wakes on Saturday morning, he instantly can tell something is off. Pulling himself out of bed he heads directly to the bathroom for a brisk shower, hoping that the hot water would help clear the fog he felt in his head. The nagging feeling doesn’t even go away as he stood in front of his espresso machine, drumming his fingers along the marble countertop as the dark liquid dripped steadily into a mug with the Dunder Mifflin logo printed on it. Leaving the espresso to cool, he heads to the front door to retrieve the morning paper and nearly dies right then and there.

Rey’s house had been transformed overnight into a complete eye sore.

Cotton spiderwebs had been meticulously placed over the tops of the shrubs in front of the porch railings. A plastic skeletons and ghosts hung on the branches of the tree on the side of the lawn closest to the Storms house. Not only that - several more inflatables had been erected, nearly covering every inch of the front lawn. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters, a giant Sandworm from Beetlejuice, and a Maleficent style dragon had all been added. There was even an inflatable Darth Vader holding a pumpkin candy bucket placed in the small patch of grass between the porch and the garage. Ben angrily clenched his fists and worked his jaw at this. Darth Vader was his favorite character from the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. How _dare_ she attack him like this?

And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, as Ben stepped off his front porch to get a better look at Rey’s inflatable army, he nearly had to pinch himself at what he was seeing. A massive skeleton was towering right behind the fence of Rey’s backyard. It had to be at least fifteen feet tall, which surely meant some H.O.A. rules had been broken – not to mention all the dangers something of that height posed.

Abandoning the newspaper he had stepped out to retrieve, he storms across the street towards Rey’s house. The gray doormat is emblazoned with a skull and crossbones, baring the words ‘Enter If You Dare’. A wicker wreath surrounded by purple, orange, and green ribbon hangs on the door, a wooden sign perched in the center with the words ‘Come Little Children’ on it. Ben pinches his lips in annoyance before reaching over to ring the doorbell. The unmistakable tune of ‘The Addam’s Family’ theme song plays behind the door and Ben frowns. There has to be something in the H.O.A. guidelines about that too.

Ben taps his foot impatiently and contemplates angrily banging a fist on the door as Rey certainly was taking her time coming to the door. Perhaps she was still asleep? After all, she had to have been up late putting up what probably amounted to an entire party stores inventory of inflatables in her yard overnight. Just as he was about to give in, the door unlocks and opens wide.

“Good morning.” Rey greets him sweetly, casually leaning in the doorway as she cradles a mug resembling a black cat in her hands, the cat’s tail having been crafted to act as the handle. She wears a houndstooth sweater and a pair of black leggings that cling tight to her long legs. Her bare feet show off a sparkle of orange paint on her toenails. She noisily slurps at the steaming mug in her hands, glancing up at Ben over the rim with a look that dares him to yell at her.

“Explain.” Is all Ben can manage to get out.

“Explain what?” Rey asks, shrugging and playing dumb.

“The decorations!” Ben snaps, pointing out into the yard behind him.

“Ah! Those!” Rey grins. “Do you like them?”

Ben sputters at her. “Do I like them?”

Rey nods eagerly.

Ben glares. “No! NO. No, I do not.”

“Well that’s unfortunate, isn’t it?” Rey says, examining her fingernails.

“They need to go.” Ben demands. “Especially the monstrosity in your backyard. That thing is well over the approved height for any sort of yard fixture.”

“Oh really?” Rey asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Ben answers firmly.

Rey briefly steps away from the doorframe to place her cat mug on the entryway table. She comes back with a stack of papers in her hands. She seductively licks her index finger while staring right at Ben before proceeding to leaf through the papers. “Because right here it says yard fixtures can’t exceed more than fourteen feet in height. The skeleton is only twelve. You _are_ familiar with section B, sub-section 8 of the H.O.A. guidelines, aren’t you Ben?”

Ben is about to choke. Rey just blinks up at him with those mischievously bright hazel eyes of hers as she holds up the H.O.A. guidelines mockingly in front of him. Angrily, Ben reaches out to snatch the papers away from her, but Rey has prepared for this. She yanks the papers out of his reach, holding them behind her.

“Ah ah! Got to be quicker than that!” She taunts him with a grin.

“Where did you get that?” Ben demands.

“From my realtor.” Rey replies as she thumbs through the papers again. “All I had to do was ask for a copy of all the rules and she was able to graciously provide me with them.”

Ben crosses his arms tightly across his chest as he glares down at Rey. “Fine then. If you think you’re so smart, then you’ll know that you need signed _approval_ from your neighbors for any yard fixtures taller than fence height.”

Rey barks a laugh. “That was easy.” She says. “Rose signed them before I even went shopping.”

“I don’t just mean the Storms, Ms. Johnson.” Ben says with an evil smirk. He’s got her now! “You need signatures from BOTH your neighbors. That includes Ms. Kanata – the neighbor to your right.” He nods his head in the direction of Ms. Kanata’s house. Ms. Kanata hated Ben. She was a short and sour old woman with thick coke bottle glasses and a tiny yappy dog that would try to bite at his ankles every chance it got.

“Now that you mention it, we had a lovely chat yesterday afternoon over a cup of tea and some biscuits.” Rey brags as she flashes her appropriately signed H.O.A. paperwork at him. Ben glares as Rey tucks the paper back into the stack in her hands. “She said seeing Chewbacca from her kitchen window would be the highlight of her day. She thinks he’s funny.”

“I’m sorry….” Ben says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Chewbacca?”

“It’s what I named the skeleton.”

“Who the hell even sells a twelve-foot-tall skeleton for your yard?”

“Home Depot.”

Ben vows at that moment to only shop at Lowes from now on for his home improvement needs.

“And your doorbell.” Ben says, a thick finger pointing to the offending button. “You’ve modified it. That’s not regulation.”

“It doesn’t have to be regulation.” Rey shoots back. “Section D, sub-section 2.” She hands him a piece of paper. Ben takes it from her and scans the portion she called out. Sure enough, nothing was stated in the guidelines that she couldn’t have the doorbell changed to something other than the generic tune that came with the home.

“Is there anything else I can do for you Ben?” Rey asks as Ben continues to loiter on her porch, his mind racing through fantasy scenarios that involve him slashing through all of Rey’s inflatables with the red lightsaber Darth Vader uses in the movies.

He practically shoves the H.O.A. paper back at her. “I don’t even see how you had the time to set all this up. I know you don’t work from home. How can you afford all this junk anyways? What do you even do for a living?”

Rey scoffs at this. “First off, it isn’t _junk._ They’re decorations. And second, I don’t have to tell you what I do.”

Ben frowns. “I told you what I do. Isn’t this what people do when getting to know each other? Ask each other questions?”

“Is that what this is? Getting to know each other?”

“I thought it was.”

“Oh? Because I thought you were here to yell at me about my yard.”

“I was.”

“Was?”

“It started out that way, yes.”

Rey eyes Ben warily for a moment and crosses her arms as she leans back against the doorframe. “Fine. I’m in software development. Happy now?”

Ben stares at her for a moment as he processes this information. He then turns his head and stares down what should be the ominous masked and cloaked figure of Darth Vader, the candy bucket clasped in his gloved hands having reduced him to a mere joke. “Who told you about Darth Vader?” He asks.

Rey leans out of the doorway and looks at the inflatable. “What do you mean?” She replies with a shrug.

“He’s…” Ben pauses. “He’s my favorite character.” He tells her. “Who told you I like ‘Star Wars’?”

Rey blinks up at him. “It’s honestly just a coincidence, I can assure you.” Rey says, shaking her head at him. She shucks a thumb in Vader’s direction. “I got him at the Goodwill. The original cord was missing, and I couldn’t find one long enough, which is why he’s placed at the garage.”

Ben’s heart sinks. How could his precious Darth Vader be further diminished to the ranks of clearance???

“I’m more of a Kenobi fan myself.” Rey shrugs. “But I’ll take what I can find.”

“You’ve seen ‘Star Wars’?”

“I’m from England, Ben. I wasn’t living under a rock.” Rey quips with a roll of her eyes.

His inner fanboy screams at him, his mind swarming with a thousand questions he wants to ask her about her thoughts on how the film series ended. He can feel his blood rushing to lower parts of his body at the prospect of a beautiful woman such as Rey sharing an interest in the same franchise as him. Wait – did he just consider Rey Johnson _beautiful_??? The woman was the devil incarnate based on her taste in holiday décor alone.

He swallows heavily as he looks at his neighbor once more. She is back to sipping out of her cat mug, her watchful eyes taking careful inventory of the various emotions flickering across his face. Unlike the day they met, her hair was partially down today, soft brown tendrils hanging down just past her shoulders. He notices the smattering of freckles that trail across the bridge of her nose and over both her cheeks as she lowers her mug. Her pink lips part slightly, and she exhales a deeply satisfactory sigh over the pleasure she finds in her drink. A flash of her tongue darts out and licks up the lingering beverage on her bottom lip and Ben can feel his pants tighten. Damn his body betraying him like this.

“Well…” He starts again, clearing his throat. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the letter you left on my porch.” He gives her a disapproving look.

“Oh good, you got that.” Is her reply. “Glad we’re all on the same page now.”

Ben just slightly narrows his eyes at her. “We’ll see.” He says, before turning away sharply and stalking his way back across the street and into his house.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of your comments have been so refreshing! Thank you to everyone who has read so far!
> 
> (seriously, thank you!)

><

It was now Wednesday. Halloween is a little less than two weeks away. Evening has already set in by the time Ben is making his way home from work. Today had been particularly stressful, as he had been called away from the office in order to assist the health department with the final inspection of a new convenience store about to open up near the interstate. Good thing they had called him in. There were _clear_ violations regarding the upkeep of the beverage coolers and the hot dog rollers. That health inspector had no idea what he was doing and had been about to sign off on the store when Ben heroically stepped in.

Amateurs.

All Ben wanted to do now was get home and indulge in the rotisserie chicken that he had picked up from the Giant Eagle grocery store for dinner and relax. As he rounds the corner onto his street, he notices a long line of cars parked alongside the sidewalk. Strange. It’s too early for anyone to be throwing a Halloween party. A surprise party perhaps? The Storms seemed quite popular enough, the street having been similarly flooded with well wishers when Mrs. Storm had her baby shower. He maneuvers around the cars before coming to a dead stop outside his own driveway.

His driveway is currently being blocked by a mid-00’s sedan with a group of four teenagers milling around the vehicle. He rolls his window down to yell at the kids.

“Dude, get a pic of me with the smoke in the background.” One of the boys is telling another. He strikes a pose in the middle of the street, leaning back with his armed crossed as if he was on the cover of a rock band CD. The second boy snaps a picture of the first with a cellphone. The friends gather around to look at the phone, no doubt agreeing that the picture was ‘dope’ or ‘lit’.

“Hey!” Ben shouts at the kids, leaning his head out the open window of his SUV. “There are bylaws prohibiting parking in front of public driveways!”

The kids look his way, almost offended that someone was speaking to them, let alone bossing them around. Grumbling, Ben flicks on his cars turn signal, indicating he needs to turn into the driveway they are currently blocking. The kids grouse to one another as the boys and two girls load up in the offending vehicle and pull away.

“Dick!” The first boy yells out the car window at Ben as they drive away.

He has half a mind to scribble their license plate number down on his Giant Eagle receipt, but he has more pressing matters to deal with. Mainly the fact that there is a small crowd gathered on the sidewalk outside of Rey’s house. He jams the car into park and gets out to see what all the fuss is about.

“Look honey! Who’s that in the pumpkin?” A mother is asking her young daughter as they stand on the sidewalk across the street.

“Snoopy! Snoopy!” The daughter cheers, clapping her hands as she laughs and points at the Snoopy inflatable.

There is an animated roar and the crowd ‘oooh’s’ and ‘aaah’s’ at a new dragon inflatable that has been set up in the side yard in front of the tree. The dragons head moves slightly as the digital roar echoes again and a stream of false smoke spews out of the dragons’ mouth. The crowd claps, delighted.

As Ben nears the edge of his driveway he can see that there has also been a projector light set up at the edge of Rey’s driveway, illuminating her closed garage door with projected pictures of the characters from ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. He can also faintly hear spooky haunted house music playing from speakers that are most likely hidden by the bushes in front of the porch. The sounds of fake screams, screeches of bats, wailing ghosts, and clanking chains have given Rey’s home the visage of a true haunted house. He has no sooner has crossed the street when a news van pulls up, subsequently blocking in Ben’s driveway for the second time tonight.

“Nice parking job Grummgar!” A woman compliments the driver of the news van as she exits the vehicle. The side door of the van slides open and a man in a baseball cap hops out. A series of wires hang out from the belt he wears that connects him to the television camera he holds in his hand.

“We ready D.J.?” The woman asks the cameraman as she pats at her black hair, slicked back into a posh bun. The camera man nods at her, mounting the camera on his shoulder as he holds up a light with his left hand to illuminate her.

“Good evening Chandrila Heights! I’m Bazine Netal, reporting to you LIVE from the neighborhood of Hydian Way – or should I say, Halloween Way?”

Bazine turns slightly to give the cameraman a better view of Rey’s house and the crowd who has come to gawk at it. “One homeowner certainly has taken Halloween to new heights! From countless inflatables to the giant skeleton-“ The cameraman trains his camera on the skeleton behind the fence. “-this home is certainly one that you can’t pass up on your trick or treat route this year. Let’s see what the public has to say about this!”

Bazine marches over to a father and son who are lingering on the sidewalk, her microphone poised for an interview. “Sir! What brings you out to see the haunted house of Hydian Way this evening?” She asks the father.

“Well, I heard about it from my coworker who lives down the street from here.” The father says. “I’ve never seen decorations like this before!”

“I like Jack! He’s my favorite!” The son adds, pointing to the Jack Skellington inflatable.

“Splendid!” Bazine says, walking away from the father and son, positioning herself so that the new dragon and the smoke billowing from its mouth is right in the background of the shot. “And with me now is the homeowner herself! Mrs. Rey Johnson!”

Rey is now awkwardly standing next to Bazine. Where did she come from? Ben wonders, having not seen her until just now. She’s wearing a fluffy soft pink sweater and a pair of skinny jeans today with her hair down.

“It’s ‘Ms.’.” Rey corrects the reporter.

“Right! Ms. Johnson, tell us! What inspired you to transform your house into such a haunting spectacle?” Bazine asks, shoving her microphone towards Rey.

“Well, I just really enjoy Halloween.” Rey says, shrugging her shoulders. “I love being able to express my fondness for the holiday with various decorations. Sometimes carved pumpkins just aren’t enough, you know? Plus, the kids love them.” The crowd murmurs in agreement.

“So true!” Bazine agrees. “Well I sure hope you’ve bought plenty of candy to giveaway to the trick or treaters! Your house definitely can’t be missed! You _really_ have outdone yourself! Any plans to top yourself next Halloween?”

“Well…” Rey begins, shrugging her shoulders again. She crosses her arms, hugging them to herself in a way that suggests she is uncomfortable with being interviewed. “I know some people don’t like the decorations, so I’m not sure about that just yet.”

Rey looks up and her eyes immediately find his in the crowd as he stands closest to the street, his arms crossed disapprovingly. She almost looks apologetic.

Bazine laughs. “Who WOULDN’T love these decorations??? They’re AMAZING!”

The crowd laughs along with Bazine. Ben’s shoulders slump and he can feel his ears burn with embarrassment. Sure, Rey didn’t call him out by name specifically, but the crowds’ reaction was damning enough to make him feel like the Halloween version of the Grinch. He turns away without another look and stalks back across the street to his car.

“For WSKB Channel 9 News, I’m Bazine Netal. And now, to Dopheld Mitaka with the weather! Doph?”

Ben pulls his SUV into the garage and storms inside his house as the garage door closes behind him. The crowds disperse along with the news crew, leaving Rey standing alone in her driveway as she sadly watches the door to Ben’s garage slowly roll down.

And _that_ wasn’t even the worst part of the entire evening. His chicken had gone cold.

><

The following day at work, Hux and Gwen approach Ben at lunch about the news segment, having seen it on television the night before.

“No wonder you’ve been so on edge lately.” Gwen comments to Ben as she stirs dressing into her bowl of Caesar salad. “If I had a neighbor with that many gaudy decorations, I’d have made sure they had an ‘accidental’ run in with a lawn mower.”

“Why not just go at them with a pair of hedge clippers?” Hux asks as he unwraps his deli sandwich from its paper wrappings.

Gwen rolls her eyes at the redhead. “Because at least a lawn mower can be summed up as gross negligence on part of the homeowner. Any good claims adjustor will know that cuts from any sort of knife blade will immediately fall under the vandalism category and therefore can be written off. It’s the same reason that if you were to slash your ex’s tires that you only slash three, not all four.”

“And just how many ex-lovers tires have _you_ slashed, Gwen?” Hux retorts back.

Gwen makes a face at Hux. “Wouldn’t _you_ like to know?”

“What _I_ want to know is if that neighbor of yours is seeing anyone.” Hux says, slightly changing the subject. “Besides the maddening amount of yard décor, I have to admit she is quite pleasing on the eyes.” Hux turns to Ben. “So? Is she?”

Ben snaps his head up, having only been half listening to his co-workers. He really hadn’t felt like reliving last nights events. “Is who what?” He asks, lifting his bologna sandwich out of its Rubbermaid container and placing it on the napkin spread out on the table in front of him.

“Your neighbor – Ms. Johnson.” Hux repeats with emphasis on the ‘Ms.’. “Is she seeing anyone? She lives right across from you. Surely you would have seen if any male suiters have come calling for her.”

Ben looks angrily across the rounded table at Hux. “Why would you even ask me that?” He snaps in reply.

Gwen and Hux look taken aback momentarily at Ben’s swift and intense answer.

“All right, man. Sorry I asked.” Hux says, putting his hands up in mock surrender. “I didn’t realize it was like that.”

“Like what?” Ben snaps again.

“That… You know…” Hux says, vaguely gesturing a hand at Ben.

“He means he didn’t realize you had already called dibs.” Gwen explains with a grin.

“Exactly.” Hux says, pointing a finger at Gwen before promptly filling his mouth with a large bite of his sandwich.

“Dibs? Who said anything about calling dibs? Dibs on what?”

“Dibs on your neighbor apparently.” Gwen said, spearing a piece of grilled chicken with her fork.

Ben glares at Hux before angrily reaching for the single packet of mustard that he had packed with his lunch. “I’ve done no such thing.” He says as he lifts the top slice of white bread off his sandwich and squeezes the mustard packet onto the bologna with the force of a gladiator crushing the skull of their enemy. He slaps the bread back on his sandwich and takes a large bite, his teeth gnashing at the bread and meat like an animal starved.

“You didn’t have to have said anything.” Gwen tells Ben with another cheeky grin. “Your response is telling enough.”

“I did _not_ call dibs.” He replies with an unflattering mouth full of sandwich.

Gwen gives Ben a sarcastic tilt of her head. “Sure Jan.” She says.

><

Ben stares down from his bedroom window at Rey’s lawn. It is just after breakfast on Saturday morning and she is already hard at work raking the fallen leaves in her yard. Occasionally she will lean down and tug on the posts anchoring the inflatables into the ground, making sure they are still properly secured.

Since the interview, the number of cars coming through the neighborhood just to marvel at her home continued to double nightly. Some people merely drove by at a snail’s pace to look while others parked along the sidewalk and got out of their cars to take pictures. Ben figured he ought to be grateful there were no more news trucks, but that didn’t stop him from glaring at his living room windows every time he heard another car drive by.

She’s wearing a baggy black sweatshirt today with a pair of faded black denim jeans with the ends rolled up around her ankles. Her hair is up in the three buns again, something he notices she tends to do when she is working in her yard. It’s a good look for her, but he prefers it when she wears it down. Her hair is always down when he thinks of her as he lies awake at night, taking himself in hand under the covers. It’s already happened three times already this week. Tonight, he suspects it won’t be any different.

A horn honks somewhere down the street and Rey looks up at the noise. She leans on her rake with one hand and waves at an oncoming truck with her other. The truck pulls just past her house before reversing and carefully backing up into her driveway, its bed nearly filled to the brim with pumpkins.

“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me.” Ben says to himself as he steps closer to the blinds for a better look.

A man around Ben’s age hops out. He has a mop of curly dark brown hair and olive skin with a fading summers tan. He’s wearing a button up brown plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up around his elbows. Rey places her rake against the railing of the porch steps and approaches the man. He flashes a megawatt smile at her. She smiles back.

God, what he would give to have her look at him like that.

The two of them converse for a couple minutes. Ben was by no means a lip reader, but he could tell by the way they gestured towards the truck and towards the yard that they must be discussing where to place the pumpkins. He sees Rey lean her head back in a hearty laugh at something the man has said, the man’s shoulders bouncing slightly as well as he too laughs. Rey tucks a strand of loose hair behind her ear as she follows the man back to the truck where she assists in lowering the trucks tailgate. One by one, Rey helps unload the pumpkins off the truck. Sometimes the man shows off, grabbing two oversized pumpkins at once, thick stems clutched in each hand.

Forty-seven pumpkins. Forty-seven! That’s how many they unloaded. They stand almost shoulder to shoulder as they observe the sea of orange that covers the top half of her lawn. They talk for what feels like forever until suddenly, and quite tragically for Ben, they embrace each other in a lingering hug before the man departs, his truck engine loudly rumbling as he drives off up the street.

Barely five minutes have passed, and Ben is already outside and crossing the street. Rey is re-organizing the pumpkins, having begun moving some to sit on her porch steps in addition to lining them up along the section of sidewalk that connects the porch to the driveway. She crouches in the small pumpkin patch, examining each pumpkin before choosing which one goes where.

“Come to smash my pumpkins already Ben?” She calls out without even turning her head.

Ben halts in his steps. Of course she would know it was him. She was probably expecting him to have shown up long before now, most likely amid the unloading of the pumpkins in an attempt to stop her.

“Actually, if I were here to vandalize your gourds I would have waited until nightfall. You know, when normal delinquents choose to carry out their misdeeds.” He replies sarcastically.

Rey lifts a pumpkin as she stands and turns to face him. She cradles the pumpkin in her hands, lightly brushing off the dirt that clings to its bottom. Ben can’t help but realize the pumpkin she holds is roughly the same size and shape of her pert behind. He can feel his face begin to flush and he clears this throat with a strangled cough.

“I don’t hate Halloween.” He blurts out to her as she moves to place the pumpkin in her hands at the corner of the driveway closest to the Darth Vader inflatable.

“I never said you did.” She replies almost haughtily, brushing off more dirt from her hands.

“Well… You probably were thinking that.” He accuses.

“You certainly do come across that way.” Rey scoffs as she bends down to pick up another pumpkin. “You’re probably the sort who hands out shit like pencils to children instead of sweets.”

“First off, we call it ‘candy’ here in the states.” Ben says, holding up a single finger. “And second, I’d never give out _pencils_. I hand out toothbrushes.”

Rey snorts at this. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Laugh all you want, but a toothbrush is actually helpful to kids. Besides, children are five times as likely to have a food allergy compared to the average adult.”

“Oh, I’m sure the kids are just _dying_ to visit your house for a brand-new toothbrush over a Snickers bar.” Rey says as she continues to maneuver the pumpkins around her yard.

“And would you mind telling me exactly what you’re planning to do with forty-seven pumpkins?” He huffs as he watches her cross her yard over to the group of pumpkins again.

“You counted?”

“I’m a numbers nerd, remember? You said it yourself.” He grouses.

“I’m planning on keeping some of them.” She tells him, hands on her hips as she observes the yard. She points to the pumpkins on the porch steps. “These ones I’ll carve this weekend. The rest are free to anyone who wants one.”

Ben furrows his brow, confused. “You’re just giving away pumpkins?” He frowns. “Who was that guy here earlier? The guy who delivered them?” He can tell his voice is raising but he can’t stop himself. “Is he a co-worker? A friend? Your boyfriend?”

“Why does it matter to you?” Rey asks brazenly as she turns to him. “Are you _jealous_?”

It’s Ben’s turn to snort. “No!” He indignantly sputters.

“Uh huh.” Rey says, her tone unconvinced.

“I’m not.”

“Sure.”

“Really.”

“If you say so.”

“Oh – but I _do_ say so.”

“Fine!” Rey snaps.

“Fine!” Ben snaps back, his arms crossed.

Rey heads towards the garage where she picks up a wooden stake with a piece of thick poster board nailed to the front. She holds the sign out for him to observe. There is a bright orange pumpkin logo in the middle with the words ‘Prime Produce’ at the top and a phone number and address on the bottom.

“Finn had one of his Air Force mates reach out to him following that awful news segment about my house.” She explains. “His name is Poe Dameron. He’s trying to drum up publicity for his farm and I told Finn I’d help him out.” She walks out into her yard and surveys potential spots to stake the sign. “And in case you were wondering, I already went over the guidelines. Section –”

“Section C, sub-section 1.” Ben interrupts. “I’m well versed in that particular paragraph. Last year was an election year after all.” He clears his throat again. “‘The H.O.A. will not adopt a restrictive covenant which prohibits a property owner from displaying one or more signs for the candidate, cause, business, or personal sale of their choosing’.” He quotes.

“Right.” Rey says, nodding her head. “So when the crowds no doubt show up tonight, I’ll let people take their pick of the pumpkins and refer them back to Poe’s farm.”

“That’s….” Ben trails off.

“Brilliant?” Rey offers with a pleased grin. “Genius perhaps?”

He’s thinking about her smile again, zoning out as he stares at the single dimple that creases her right cheek.

“I was going to say borderline propaganda.” He eventually says with a shrug of his shoulders. “Regardless, just keep the crowds tonight to a minimum or I _will_ be forced to file a complaint.”

“Oh dear, a complaint. I’m so frightened.” Rey deadpans with a roll of her eyes.

“You should be.”

“Are you sure you’re not jealous?” Rey asks one more time.

Ben just purses his lips and squares his jaw. “Crowds to a minimum, Ms. Johnson.” He says as he takes his leave. He enters his house, shutting the door just loud enough for her to hear across the street.

“I’m _not_ jealous.” He says aloud to the empty house. But even he doesn’t believe himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I continue to be so grateful for all the wonderful comments so far!
> 
> (you guys are awesome)

><

Halloween was finally here.

Excitement was in the air. Well, it was either that or Ben’s eagerness over the impending removal of all of Rey’s bothersome decorations. Perhaps a bit of both.

The forty-seven pumpkins provided on behalf of Poe Dameron and his farm had barely lasted the weekend they had arrived. All that remained were the five that Rey had kept for herself. There were four perched on the far-left side of each of her porch steps. The fifth pumpkin, the tallest of the bunch, was placed on the porch right by her front door.

Ben had just finished his dinner, having eaten earlier than usual as to not have his meal interrupted by the trick or treaters that would be coming by soon enough. He rinses his dishes and places them in the dish rack next to the sink to dry. He wanders into the foyer to ensure that his porch light is on. It’s just after six in the evening, the sky outside still light enough to guide the early trick or treaters through the neighborhood. The orange haze of the setting sun in the distance provides just enough ambiance for the occasion.

He peeks out his living room windows, telling himself he’s just checking for the first sign of trick or treaters, but he knows that’s not entirely true. Every night since the arrival of the pumpkins Rey comes out on her porch at exactly 6:15 to light the tealights within the carved pumpkins. Ben checks his watch, making sure he is on time. He squints out the window, trying to see if the pumpkins might have already been illuminated. Thankfully, their carved smiles remain dark.

A few minutes later Rey is walking out onto her porch wearing flower printed yoga pants and another baggy sweatshirt. She trots down her porch steps in bare feet, an orange lighter with a long black stem in her hand. She removes the lid of the pumpkin on the bottom step, crouching as she reaches the lighter inside down towards the candles. She looks up suddenly, distracted. She places the lid back on the pumpkin and sets the lighter on the step and walks towards her side yard.

Ben follows her with his eyes and realizes that the Storm family has emerged from their house and are coming over to greet her. Finn holds a plastic pink pumpkin candy bucket in his hands, yet he is dressed in every day street clothes. Rose on the other hand has chosen to get into the spirit of the holiday by wearing a headband with cat ears that blend almost seamlessly into her jet-black hair. Even from here Ben can see that she has also painted white whiskers and a pink nose on her face. In her arms she holds their daughter, the growing babe having been dressed up in a cozy looking bumblebee costume.

Rey smiles and laughs as the baby reaches out towards her. Rose hands Paige over to Rey and Rey proceeds to lift the tot high into the air as if she was flying. Paige claps her hands and laughs again as Rey puffs out her cheeks and brings the baby in close to nuzzle her with her nose.

Something twinges inside his chest as he watches the scene. Of course, she would be great with kids. Somewhere in the alternate universe inside Ben’s mind he envisions her in a similar scenario: sharing her beloved Halloween traditions with dark haired children, helping them carve pumpkins, dressing up and taking them trick or treating while he stays back at the house to pass out treats to the guests visiting their considerably less decorated home.

Rose takes Paige back from Rey, slightly bouncing her on her hip as Paige tugs at the yellow pom-pom antennas attached to the hood of her costume. Rey chats with Finn and Rose for a couple more moments before they wave goodbye, heading off down the sidewalk as they embark on their daughter’s first trick or treat milestone. Rey goes back to her porch to light the rest of her pumpkins and then heads back inside.

Barely an hour later the street is bustling with multiple groups of trick or treaters, some who have even come over from other nearby neighborhoods just to stop by the star attraction that is Rey’s house. Ben stands on his porch, poised with his bowl of treats and readily available for the next wave of trick or treaters. Unfortunately, a lot the kids seem to get distracted by the time they reach his house, opting to cross the street to go to Rey’s and bypassing his home entirely.

He can see a pair of tween boys coming up the street towards his house. One of them is dressed as a Minecraft character with a square cardboard box placed over his head that has square holes cut out for the eyes. The second boy is dressed as a strange combination of a bloodied astronaut wearing a top hat and carrying a plastic machete.

“Let’s stop here first and then go across the street.” Ben can hear the astronaut say to his Minecraft friend.

“That house? No way. Dude gives out toothbrushes.” Minecraft kid warns the astronaut.

“Really? Lame! Let’s just head across to the cool house.” The astronaut suggests.

Ben watches as the boys cross the street, frowning as he takes note that they aren’t wearing any safety reflectors. He looks down sadly at the bowl in his hands. He had gone out of his way to purchase allergy friendly candy to hand out this year instead of toothbrushes. He estimates he hasn’t even given out a third of the Smarties and Tootsie Rolls he had bought. He breathes a heavy sigh out his nose. That’s what he gets for trying to prove to Rey that he doesn’t hate Halloween. He _definitely_ didn’t do it as a means to impress her, despite Hux suggesting that was the case.

The boys are back at the sidewalk now, conversing animatedly with each other as they compare the sizes of the popcorn balls they received from Rey’s house. How very ‘Rey’ of her to give out something other than the generic fun size candy assortment that most houses hand out. He glares towards her house but all he can see is yet another crowd of children and adults on her porch blocking nearly all the light from her open door.

As the temperature drops, so do the crowds. Even Ben had retreated back inside to await any straggling trick or treaters. Porch lights slowly go off one after the other down the street as families turn in for the night until the two remaining houses with their lights still on are his and Rey’s. He stands in front of his living room windows and watches her house, waiting for her light to go off. Pictures of Jack and Sally dance on the blank canvas of Rey’s garage door while the inflatables barely sway, as if they too could sense the end of the holiday and their imminent removal that follows.

He checks his watch again. It is on the cusp of ten o’ clock, certainly too late to be expecting any more trick or treaters. He walks to the door, fingers hovering over the switch to turn off the porch lights. The tiny dancing flames inside her carved pumpkins flicker almost invitingly, her porch acting like a beacon. Running an agitated hand through his hair he swears lightly underneath his breath, his hand falling away from the switch plate and towards the doorknob instead.

The street is empty, yet he still looks both ways before he crosses. There are clear trampled paths in Rey’s yard from all the foot traffic she amassed this evening. He grimaces. If it was _his_ yard, he’d have half a mind to re-sod the whole thing. He pauses at the bottom of the porch steps, getting his first good look at the pumpkins she had carved.

Her carving skills were just as impressive as her lawn decorating ones. It takes Ben a moment to realize that the pumpkins are artistic rendering of her neighbors. One has almond shaped eyes, a tiny triangle nose, and a wide grinning smile – an obvious nod to Rose. Another pumpkin has large rounded eyes almost like goggles and a crooked grin, most likely Mrs. Kanata and her gigantic glasses. He steps up to the front door and frowns at the pumpkin leaning against the siding. With eyebrows carved in an angry slant and a very Bert from Sesame Street style nose, it wasn’t too hard to guess which of her neighbors it was meant to resemble. Him.

He rings the doorbell, internally cringing at the organ notes and two finger snaps that echo through the door. The door opens at the end of the second snap. The woman in front of him isn’t Rey, except it is. She’s wearing a gray wig and glasses that look better suited for the grandmother from Red Riding Hood. She wears a solid black jersey dress with long sleeves that ends just above her knees with a wrap of crocheted lace around the collar. In one hand she holds a judge’s gavel, a plastic orange bowl in the other.

“Oh. It’s you.” She says, unenthused. “Have you come for your balls?”

Ben’s face heats with embarrassment. “My what?”

“Your popcorn balls?” Rey asks again, holding out the plastic bowl towards him. “I’ve only got three left.”

“No thanks.” He says, shaking his head. He takes a moment to eye her up and down. “What exactly are you supposed to be?” He asks.

She holds out her arms and gestures to herself with the gavel as if it was obvious. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” She says plainly. “The sexy version I suppose. I couldn’t find a long enough robe, so I figured this dress would do.” She adds with a shrug.

“Oh…. I didn’t realize Brits knew who she was.” Ben says.

“Of course we do. She was personal influence of mine.” Rey tells him. “Not one to let a man boss me around.”

“That explains a lot.” Ben huffs sarcastically.

She peers around him at the darkened neighborhood behind him and sighs. “I assume you’re here to nag at me about the decorations.” A pause. “Why don’t you come in?” She walks away from the door, expecting him to follow her without question. Like a vampire welcomed into a home, Ben cautiously steps over the threshold and shuts the door behind him.

“Are you more of a whiskey or a scotch type of guy?” Rey calls out to him from the kitchen.

“Whiskey, please.” There are already two wine glass tumblers waiting on the kitchen island. Each of them have ghosts etched on the glass with one declaring ‘Bad And Boozy’ and the other with ‘Here For The Booze’. “Looks like you were anticipating me.” He quips.

Rey snorts as she comes back over to the island with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a bottle of Fireball in the other. “How could I not?” She says as she places both bottles on the countertop and begins to unscrew their tops. “Halloween is over. It was only a matter of time before you were over here reminding me to have my decorations removed within 24 hours.” She delicately pours the whiskey in the glass closest to where he stands on the far side of the kitchen island.

“I’m surprised you’d think that.” He says as he reaches for the glass. “The H.O.A. guidelines clearly state that you have a week following the holiday to remove all decorations before you are susceptible to incurring fines.” He gently sips the whiskey. “And in your case, you’re going to need all that extra time with the amount of decorations you have.”

“You know what I meant.” Rey shoots back as she places the cap back on the bottle of Fireball she has finished pouring into her glass. She removes the glasses and wig she’s wearing, shaking her hair loose before taking off the lace collar and setting all the accessories to the side. “You’ve hated those decorations since the day you met me. You’ve been chomping at the bit to see them taken down.”

“I told you, I don’t hate Halloween.” Ben clarifies, setting his glass back down with a clink.

“Then what is it?” Rey asks him. She leans on the countertop with her elbows and cups her glass of Fireball in her hands. She looks dressed down and casual with her costume removed now, her hair slightly wavy from having been stuffed underneath the wig cap. She eyes him intently.

“I’m just very serious about my role as H.O.A. President.” Ben says, swirling around the amber liquid in his glass. “Someone has to enforce the rules. Someone has to be the bad guy.”

Rey takes a large sip of her drink and smacks her lips. “Is it possible you could enforce the rules and just not be a bloody wanker about them?”

“It’s because I’m a so called ‘bloody wanker’ that the rules _are_ enforced.” Ben replies with an angry flare of his nostrils. He lifts his glass to his lips and quickly downs the whiskey before helping himself to a refill. “Do you know how much residents had to pay in fees before I took over?”

Rey shakes her head.

“The fees were nearly double.” Ben explains. He gestures around her kitchen with his half full glass. “My Uncle used to live here, in this very house. He was the President before me.” Rey looks around the kitchen, no doubt imagining what things must have been like when his Uncle had lived here. “He was very lax in his position. He only stepped in if the issues were serious. As such, several fines were incurred by resident’s disregard for the rules, which in turn caused the increase in the yearly fees, which did not sit well with a lot of people.”

“Is that why so many people have left?” Rey asks before taking another sip of her drink. “Rose told me that my house is cursed since so many people have moved out from it.”

“The house isn’t cursed. We’re just located near a military base.” Ben shrugs. “People are shifted around at a moment’s notice sometimes.” He then narrows his eyes. “What else has Rose told you?”

“She says that you would glare at the kid who would skateboard in the driveway.”

Ben scoffs. “The kid was skateboarding without a helmet or safety pads on AND he had a broken arm in a cast. I was making sure he didn’t further injure himself.”

“Then what about the balloons on the mailbox after Rose had her baby? How are balloons a _hazard_?”

“The mail carrier for this route is allergic to latex. They were latex balloons.”

It’s Rey’s turn to frown. “And Mrs. Lars and her mailbox?” She asks with renewed interest.

Ben finishes off his second glass of whiskey. “Now _that_ was unfortunate. During my Uncle’s time as H.O.A. President there was a resident who built a brick mailbox that was over regulated height. Caused a thousand dollars’ worth of damage to a mail truck. So, I had no choice but to have her take it down to avoid another mishap with the postal service and have the fees go up.” Ben looks down into his empty glass. “I did apologize for it. She told me she understood.”

“’Then why did she move away?”

“She moved to be closer to her grandkids in Indiana.”

Ben sighs as he places his empty glass back down on the table. “I care about this job. I care about this neighborhood, but everyone just thinks I’m a giant asshole.”

Rey frowns and looks down at her matching empty glass. “I… I didn’t think about that. That perhaps what you were doing was because you were only looking out for people.” She looks back up at him. “I didn’t realize how well you knew everyone in the neighborhood.”

“Not everyone.” He says, meeting her glance. She looks down, her cheeks flushing pink.

“Tell me about your Uncle. Why did he quit? Why did he move?”

“He quit because he moved away. And he moved away because… Well, he fell in love. And in his 60’s, too.”

“Oh?”

Ben nods. “Yeah. With his neighbor of all people.”

“Did she, or he, live in your house before you?”

“She. My Aunt Mara. And no, she actually lived where the Storms live now.” Ben says, nodding in the direction of the house next door. “She’s probably one of the reasons he didn’t take the role of H.O.A. President too seriously. Too busy flirting over the fence with her. They’re both retired now and own a ranch out in Arizona.”

“That sounds lovely. And also, quite romantic.” Rey muses as she sets down her empty glass. “Like something you’d see in a film or on the telly.”

“Mmm.” Ben says. “And… What about you?” He asks, avoiding her intense stare.

“What about me?” Rey replies with a small shrug as she continues to fiddle with her empty glass.

“Are you uh… Seeing anybody?” He asks her while staring down at his hands cupped tightly around his glass. “I’m uh… Just curious if there was any other reason that would bring you here to the U.S. besides your job. Moving to a new country is a big decision.”

“The only reason I’m here is _me_.” Rey says proudly, holding her chin up as she speaks. “I’ve worked my ass off to be where I am today. Besides, I haven’t been here long enough to meet many new people, especially those outside of work.”

“What about Poe?” Ben blurts out.

Rey frowns. “What about him?”

“He’s not a co-worker.” Ben points out. He pauses and swallows thickly. “How did that go anyways? The stuff with the pumpkins I mean.”

“Good!” Rey says. “He actually called me the other day about it. Said that he barely had any pumpkins left. People even bought the odd shaped ones he usually ends up having to use for pies before they go bad.”

“That’s…. good.” Ben says, forcing a small smile.

“He wants to get together and talk about collaborating on a larger scale next year but….” Rey trails off, chewing on her lip before continuing. “I don’t know if I’m going to do it.”

Ben frowns. “Why not? You love Halloween. Seems like it would be something you’d be excited about.”

Rey tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks growing pink. “I know but…” She sighs. “To be honest, there’s this guy that I’m sort of into.” She admits. She peeks up at him through dark lashes. “And I’m afraid if I were to team up with Poe, that this guy wouldn’t like that.”

“Oh…” Ben says, his heart sinking. He was such a fool for thinking that Rey could see him as anything more than the stodgy H.O.A. President, let alone just her neighbor. He clears his throat, composing his face to appear to be considering her words. He clenches his jaw. “Well, I think you should do it.” He says.

“Really?” Rey straightens up, pushing herself back from the kitchen island with her hands. “You think so?”

Ben thinks for a moment before nodding. “Yes.” He says. “If you like Halloween so much, you should do what makes you happy.”

Rey eyes him warily. “But this guy I like…. He’s kind of an asshole. I’m pretty sure he’d get mad if I were to work with Poe.”

Ben frowns and narrows his eyes. “If this guy is such an asshole, then why do you even like him?” He scoffs.

Rey just laughs. Her head tilts back, her hair falling over her shoulders. She turns to Ben and smirks.

“I’m talking about you Ben.” She says grinning. “The asshole. It’s you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert 'The Office' panicking Michael GIF here*  
> OMG it's really happening you guys!
> 
> THE SMUT IS HERE!!!
> 
> (trick or treat everyone! hope this chapter is a treat for you)

><

Ben is shocked.

Stunned.

Speechless.

This must be some cruel trick. It was still technically Halloween. Trick or Treat, right? He’d rather have the treat if he was being honest. He knows his mouth is hanging open as he struggles to come up with a response. A witty reply. Calling her out. A confession of his own. Something. ANYTHING.

“Alright, don’t hurt yourself.” Rey says, breaking the silence in the kitchen. “You look like you’re trying to solve a quadratic equation. Which, to be fair, should be easy for a numbers nerd such as yourself.” She casually gathers up the empty drink glasses on the kitchen island and carries them over to the sink. She proceeds to rinse them out. “Had I known this is how you’d react; I wouldn’t have said anything.” She comments to the faucet.

Two large hands grip onto the countertop on either side of her, effortlessly trapping her in front of the sink. She can feel his towering figure looming behind her, his body heat radiating as he cages her in. She nearly drops the glasses as he leans over her shoulder, his warm breath ghosting against her ear.

“You shouldn’t say things that you don’t mean.” He growls.

She nearly shivers. Squeezing her shoulders inward, she turns around to face him. Despite it being a holiday, he is still dressed like he came straight from work. His silver dress shirt is tucked neatly into soft black trousers, the marbled buttons shining slightly from the reflection of the kitchen light overhead. His face is inches from hers as he stares sternly down at her.

“Who says I don’t mean them?” Rey asks, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up in defiance.

Ben gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You… You just can’t.” He shakes his head, almost to himself instead of at her. “I don’t see how.”

“For starters, I thought you were very handsome the day we met.” Rey confesses. She uncrosses her arms and allows her fingers to nimbly dance across his shirt buttons. “But then you had to go and open that stupid mouth of yours. And despite your best efforts to dissuade me, I still couldn’t get you out of my head. I’m always up for a challenge, and you just happened to provide the perfect kind.” She then ghosts her hands lightly across his chest, feeling the firmness of his pecs beneath the thin fabric. “So, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“I see how you look at me. Watching me from across the street, inside your house. You’re not exactly stealthy.” She’s now toying with the tips of the collar of his shirt. “Even when you think you have the blinds drawn closed just enough, you still cast a very large shadow against them.”

Ben works his jaw and purses his lips, embarrassed to have had his attempts at espionage found out. “I only stared because you were so insistent on turning your yard into an abomination just to get a rise out of me.” He accuses.

“Oh, I was trying to get a rise out of you all right.” Rey smirks, moving her hands to rest on his shoulders. “You just weren’t giving me the one I wanted.” Ben can feel his face and ears burn red at the realization of her suggestive words. Rey laughs at his reaction. “You are awful with hiding your emotions, did you know that?”

“It may have been brought to my attention in the past, yes.” He answers with a serious face. He looks down at her, still trapped between himself and the farmhouse sink. Her hazel eyes have darkened with lust as she gazes back up at him and she fidgets slightly, her eyebrows raising in a taunt as if to ask him ‘what are you going to do about it?’.

“You know…” He says, flexing his fingers and drumming them against the countertop behind her. “I told my Uncle that I thought this sink was ugly. But he installed it anyways. Resale value and all that.”

“Did you honestly come over here just to talk about my sink?” Rey asks him, her tone overwhelmingly full of sass.

“No.”

“Good.”

She moves her hands from his shoulders, encircling them around his neck as she raises on her tip toes while simultaneously pulling him down towards her. Their lips meet without hindrance or hesitation, like a moth to a flame. Ben pushes back from the sink, his hands finding purchase around her slim waist. Her lips are sinful, just like the words that slip from them. Her fingers find their way into the hair at the nape of his neck, tugging him closer to her as she opens her mouth to him to further the kiss.

She tastes like the warm spice of the Fireball she drank earlier, and it leaves a lingering tingle on his tongue. His hands wrap around her waist, pressing her to him. Her weight against him throws him off balance and he stumbles backwards. His back hits the refrigerator and a magnet clatters to the floor along with the paper it was holding up at the impact.

“Whoops. Sorry.” He mutters, breaking the kiss.

Rey just giggles and nuzzles her nose along his jaw. “Should we take this somewhere else?” She asks him softly before pressing a kiss to the pulse point beneath his chin.

“Like back to my place?” Ben dumbly asks, the blood from his brain rushing to other parts of his body.

“My bedroom is closer.”

“Right.” Ben says, nodding in agreement.

Rey grins at him, eyes crinkling and nose wrinkling, her cheeks flushed. His heart skips a beat. The smile he sees so often in his dreams of her, and now it was all for him. He grins back, sharing his crooked smile with her. She tugs his hand towards the foyer, leading him to the stairs and he blindly follows like a lovesick puppy.

“Oh, wait!” He says as Rey rounds the bannister. He lets go of her hand briefly as he pauses to take his shoes off, leaving them neatly on the floor next to the front door, tucking the laces inside. She shakes her head at him, still grinning.

He trots up the stairs after her. Even if she hadn’t paused outside her bedroom door, he still would have known which room it was, having been here years ago. Rey leaves him in the doorway as she goes to turn on the lamp on her bedside table. He’s not sure which of the previous tenants decided to paint the walls of the master suite a pale yellow, but he has to admit it definitely brightens the room.

Her bed is a Queen size and he momentarily wishes they were at his place with his California King. Her comforter is a tartan pattern of browns and cream. Clothes are piled on top of the hamper outside the door to the master bathroom, her dresser a tastefully cluttered mess of knick-knacks with a modestly sized television for watching late at night.

“This has definitely changed since my Uncle lived here.” He says to her as she approaches him.

“Mmmm. Let’s not talk about your Uncle anymore, shall we?” Rey purrs as she tugs at the top button of his dress shirt. Ben just nods before leaning down to capture her lips in another searing kiss.

Ben discovers just how difficult it is to unbutton a shirt while simultaneously shoving one’s tongue down the throat of the neighbor you’ve spent the last several weeks pining over. Somehow, they manage, with Ben eventually whipping the garment off his broad shoulders and discarding it somewhere behind him.

Rey effortlessly shimmies out of the dress, tossing it in the same direction of Ben’s dress shirt. She cocks an eyebrow at his flustered expression. Underneath her simple dress the little minx was wearing what attributed to Victoria’s finest of secrets - a matching lace bra and panty set that was as black as night.

“You were planning this.” He accuses.

“And you’re surprised at that?” She quips as she settles on her bed. She eyes him, silently imploring him to come and join her.

“This still doesn’t seem real.” He says, shaking his head as he takes a cautious step towards the bed.

“Does it help if I told you how many nights I would touch myself right here in this very bed, thinking of you?”

“Fuck.” Ben hisses at this, his erection straining against his pants.

“Yes please.” Rey chirps in reply.

Another wave of realization washes over him. While Rey may have been planning on things escalating beyond just a drink in the kitchen, he was not.

“I uh… I didn’t bring anything.” He tells Rey. She just stares back up at him with mischievous eyes. He’s too embarrassed to admit that it has been a shamefully long time since he’s been with a woman, feeling like the world’s worst Boy Scout as he stands there wholly unprepared and unprotected without a condom on his person. “I left my wallet at home.”

“I have an IUD.” Rey informs him.

A slight crease in his brow. “Those are still only 99 percent effective.”

“Well I’m 99 percent ready to shag that massive erection of yours.” Rey says, nodding at the very noticeable bulge in Ben’s slacks. “So, I suppose it’s up to you to decide if you’re willing to take that 1 percent risk, Mr. ‘I-Have-A-Masters-Degree-In-Actuarial-Science’.”

Ben can practically hear his heart pounding as his mind runs through several possible scenarios. He could take the risk and have the best night of his life with limited risk of unintended consequences. On the other hand, a risk was still a risk. But hadn’t he been imagining what a life with Rey could be like earlier? The imaginary dark-haired children appear again with raucous laughter and his heart yearns for the possibility of the fabled happy American family. If not now, but maybe one day. Regardless, the opportunity is in his grasp.

He looks down at Rey as she lounges on the bed, her eyes becoming intense and focused on him the longer it takes him to reply. She drives him up the wall with her snark. She challenges him every chance she gets. Her taste in decorations is deplorable. But she is witty, intelligent, creative, and beautiful. Plus, she likes Star Wars.

He is 100 percent sure he is in love with his neighbor.

“You’re worth all the risk.” He tells her before joining her on the bed.

She wraps her arms around his neck again as he trails kisses from her lips to the curve of her neck and all the way down to the tops of her breasts. He slides one of the straps of her bra to the side and she obliges him by releasing the clasp at the back, allowing him to reveal her bare chest to him. Her pert breasts were just as he had imagined, modest in size and the perfect fit for his hands.

He doesn’t hesitate when it comes to what he does next, lowering his mouth to one of them and swirling his tongue around a rosy nipple. He sucks hard before releasing it with a wet pop. He then fits the breast in his palm, squeezing as he draws his mouth and attention to her other breast. Rey leans her head back and delightedly sighs, reaching her hands into his hair and tugging slightly when he takes the other nipple between his teeth and lightly pulls.

“How naughty you are.” Rey coos to Ben, sliding her hands to his shoulders, her fingernails digging in as he continues to suck and licks at her breasts.

Ben pulls away long enough to remove his slacks, his member still prominently straining against his designer brand boxer briefs. “There’s still a lot you don’t know about me, sweetheart.” He replies in a voice thick with desire.

“I can’t wait to find out.” Rey says as Ben runs a hand sensually up her leg. “Especially what you’re hiding behind those Calvin Kleins.”

“You’ll find out soon enough. But first…“ He reaches two fingers under the soft lace of her panties, already damp with her arousal, and peels them back, sliding them down her legs just slow enough to make Rey shudder with anticipation. The panties end up somewhere among the growing pile of clothes on the bedroom floor. Rey instinctively scoots up towards the pillows on her bed as Ben lavishes kisses along her inner thighs as he inches closer to her awaiting center, readying to taste her.

At the first contact of his tongue, Rey has to hold herself back from screaming. He expertly licks up the length of her core, swirling the tip of his tongue briefly over her clit before using his skilled mouth to suck on both her folds at the same time. Her hands find their way back into his hair, gripping forcefully as his tongue laps inside her throbbing cunt. Rey can’t help but cant her hips into his face, one hand still grasping at his shoulder while the other continues to twists in his hair as the antics of his tongue increase.

Rey keens and moans at his ministrations. Pleas of ‘more’ and praise of ‘right there, just like that’ tumble breathlessly from her lips. His long nose nudges at her clit, causing her to shout out a string of obscenities, some of them he was surprisingly unfamiliar with. He lifts his mouth from her swollen folds and slowly slides one thick finger inside her. She throws her head back and groans before looking back down at Ben between her legs, He smirks up at her and she smirks back just as he adds a second finger.

She breathily gasps at the sensation, her hands scrambling and clutching at the comforter beneath her as Ben curls his fingers upwards inside her. He flexes his fingers occasionally, causing her to gasp between moans. He can feel her walls begin to clench around his fingers and he gently removes them, some of her juices spilling from her cunt as he does so. He licks another slow and calculated stripe up her glistening slit before he sucks his fingers into his mouth to clean himself off.

“Satisfied?” He wickedly asks her.

“Hardly.”

The next thing he knows he’s flat on his back on her bed, his head falling back against soft pillows encased in silk that smell just like her. He doesn’t have much time to focus on determining the exact scent of her shampoo, as Rey is already hastily at work removing his boxers. His erection is finally free of its confines, standing at full attention, throbbing, veiny, and red with a fresh drop of pre-cum on the tip.

Her hand is barely able to wrap around the shaft. He groans at her touch. She works her hand up and down his cock, being so gentle and slow that it’s almost like torture. He jolts at the first contact of her tongue against the head, his next groan drowned out in a choke as Rey descends her sweet lips over the rest of his cock. He can barely make out the muffled ‘bloody hell’ that she mumbles out around him right before sinking down as far as she can go.

He grasps at her shoulder as her mouth moves up and down on his hardened cock. She cups his balls in one hand, gently squeezing and he bucks his hips in response to the sensation. Rey takes this all-in stride, now working his dick in tandem with her hands and her mouth. His mouth hangs agape as he both pants heavily and marvels at how lucky he is to have this gorgeous woman sucking on his cock. She’s a quick learner, taking note of all the sweet spots she hits, making sure to pay close attention to those specific areas. Rey glances up at him with hooded eyes, her perfect lips still wrapped around his thick cock. She swirls her tongue on the underside of his tip and he practically comes right then. She eventually releases him with a wet pop and a gasp.

“How do you want to do this?” She asks, flipping her hair out of her face and over her shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“How do you like it? Do you want it nice and slow or do you want to fuck me into the mattress?”

“Do you _want_ me to fuck you into the mattress?”

“I’m partial to it kind of rough, honestly.”

“Okay then.”

“Next question, from the front or from behind?”

“Front. That way I can see what your face looks like when I make you come.”

“Ooooh. I like the sound of that.”

“Somehow I thought you would.”

He pulls her to the edge of the bed, stepping onto the floor and positioning himself above her. He teases her by rubbing his swollen head against her slick entrance before pushing his thick member inside.

“God, you’re so fucking tight.” He groans.

“So, this pussy is worth all the risk then?” Rey clarifies as Ben slowly begins to move inside her.

“Not just your pussy. All of you.” He replies as he picks up the pace a bit. “There’s a good chance I’d let you decorate my own lawn with your stupid decorations if it meant I could have this pussy every night.”

“How big of a chance we are talking?”

“About a 40 percent chance.”

“Hmm. That’s pretty high, coming from you.”

“Well now that you’ve you said that - make it 30.”

“Mmm. I love it when you talk numbers to me.”

“Oh yeah?” He says before slamming his cock into her, flecks of her growing wetness beginning to spatter across his thighs.

“Mmmhmm. You’re just so serious about them. It’s cute.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been referred to as cute before.”

“You’re _very_ cute. And sexy.” Her tits are swaying now as Ben holds her legs over his shoulders, his cock pounding into her.

“This good?” He asks her as he continues to thrust hard into her.

She nods before tilting her head back, overcome with moans of pleasure. The sounds coming from between them are obscene. He lets go of her legs and she wraps them around his hips, holding him in close. He palms at her breasts, tweaking her nipples with his fingers as they both near their respective climaxes.

Rey pulls Ben down on top of her, pressing her lips desperately to his as his movements begin to slow. She pants heavily and chants his name in a hushed whisper, almost like a prayer, before crying out as he brings her to a final release. He grunts as he spills inside her seconds later, Rey continuing to hold him close with her forehead pressed to his shoulder.

Their breathing slows in sync with each other as they remain entwined together. Ben places a gentle kiss on the tip of Rey’s nose and she giggles, her nose crinkling as he pulls his lips away. He slides out from her and lies back down on the bed, his still firm cock wet and shining with their combined fluids.

Rey sits up and excuses herself to the bathroom briefly as Ben lets the realization of what happened wash over him. Rey comes out of the bathroom a moment later and offers Ben a damp washcloth. “I ought to go check on the pumpkins.” She says as she wanders stark naked around to the other side of the bed. “Make sure they haven’t burned yet.” She picks up Ben’s dress shirt from the floor and proceeds to slip into it and buttoning it back up, the hem of it ending just above her knees.

“You’re going to go onto the porch like that?” Ben asks as he cleans up his softening member. “What if someone sees you?”

“The only person that spies on me is right here.” She sassily shoots back at him with a wink before slipping from the room.

He can hear the front door open and he takes this moment to put his boxers back on. The door closes a few minutes later and Rey comes back into the room with two glasses of water. She offers one to him as she settles back down on the bed, still in his dress shirt.

“Thanks.” He says as he takes the glass from her. He takes a large gulp, sating his thirst. Rey looks down bashfully into her glass of water.

“So um… You’re more than welcome to stay, but I understand if you want to get back home.”

Ben lowers his now empty glass. “I can stay.”

Rey perks up at this. “You will?”

“If that’s what you’d like.”

“I’d like that very much.”

She smiles at him, taking a drink of water before setting the glass on the bedside table. She cozies up alongside him, reaching for one of his hands and threading her fingers with his.

“Did you want to go to sleep now or shall we have another go at it?” She asks with a suggestive wag of her eyebrows.

Ben lightly laughs. “I think we should hit the hay. It’s been a long night, and we’ve got a long day ahead of us with removing all of those decorations tomorrow.”

“You mean you’ll help me take them down?”

“Of course. I’m sick of looking at them.”

Rey just giggles again. “Well thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help me.”

“The sex helped.”

Rey playfully shoves Ben and he full on laughs at this. Rey beams up at him. “Regardless, the quicker it gets packed up and put away, the more time I can spend on getting ready for Christmas.”

“Christmas!?” Ben exclaims. He dramatically falls back against Rey’s pillows, groaning and covering his face in exasperation. “I forgot all about Christmas.”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re Jewish.” Rey scoffs.

“Half. On my mom’s side.” Ben mumbles from beneath his hands.

“Well that explains the….” She motions a hand at his boxers. Ben tries to shoot her a stern look, but he fails, his lips curving up in a sly smile.

“How about we come to a compromise?” He offers.

“Like what?”

“Well, if you’re planning on this continuing-“ He gestures between the two of them. “-then you’re going to have to scale back on the decorations.”

“Including the inflatables?”

“ _Especially_ the inflatables.”

Rey considers this a moment, settling back on the bed and snuggling up next to Ben, tracing patterns into his skin with a finger. “Okay fine. But I get to pick the inflatables.”

“Done. How many were you thinking about?”

“Ten.”

“What?! No way, that’s too many. You can have three.”

“Three??? That’s practically nothing. How about nine? That’s one for each reindeer.”

“Santa only has eight reindeer.”

“You’re forgetting about Rudolph.”

“He doesn’t really count. You can have four.”

“Seven.”

“Five and that’s my final offer.”

“Make it six and I’ll cook you the best English breakfast you’ve ever had in the morning.”

Ben looks over at Rey. She grins back and bats her eyelashes at him.

“Fine. Six.”

Rey squeals and smothers Ben with kisses. They both laugh as they settle back down on the bed and bundle themselves up under her duvet.

“You know something?” Rey asks Ben after she switches off the lamp on the bedside table.

“Hmm?”

“Out of all the things that Finn and Rose got wrong about you, they were almost right about one thing.”

“And what was that?”

“They said you were a giant dick.”

“I’m not?”

“Nope. Turns out you just have one instead.”

Ben just laughs as he pulls Rey in close, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “Happy Halloween Rey.”

“Happy Halloween Mr. H.O.A. President.”

><

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *raises hand*
> 
> Dearest JadedWarrior, Can I write a Christmas epilogue? Because I KIND OF already have an idea for one... But this is a Halloween prompt, and it's your story, so it's up to you!
> 
> (pretty please?)


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO THIS IS WAY LONGER THAN I ANTICIPATED
> 
> (no regerts)

><

“You’re doing it all wrong!”

“How is there a wrong way to put up Christmas lights?”

“These are icicle lights. Icicles don’t _sag_. Make sure the line is pulled tight.”

A grunt. “If I pull this line any tighter the cord is going to snap.”

“Don’t be such a pussy. Pull it tight.”

“If you use say the words ‘pussy’ and ‘tight’ again, we’re never going to finish with these decorations.”

“Is that a challenge or a threat?”

“It’s whatever you want it to be, sweetheart.”

There is a hiss and a click as Rey staples the cord into place along the overhang of her garage. “I figured we’d end up in the bedroom at some point anyways, so it’s really no bother to me.” She says airily from atop her perch on the stepladder. “Next section please.”

Ben sighs as he gathers up the next three feet of the dangling white lights, untangling a few of the strands as he does so. “So, what comes after the lights?” He asks as he holds the green plastic cord up against the overhang, adjusting it slightly.

Another hiss and click from the staple gun. “The garland.”

“And where is that going?”

“It’s going to wrap around the porch railing and up the posts.”

“You know, when I asked you what you were doing Thanksgiving weekend, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“What else would I have been doing? I’m British, Ben. We don’t celebrate traitors of the royal family and then go off and fight strangers for discounted Crock Pots on full stomachs.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Yes, yes. You wanted to know if I was available to shag. But may I remind you, you’re limiting me to seven inflatables-”

“Six.” Ben interrupts, correcting her.

“Are you sure? I thought we agreed on seven.”

“It’s six.”

“Regardless, if you’re limiting me on my decorations, the least you can do is help me put them up. Decorations first. Pussy later.”

“Fine.”

Rey fires another staple into the wood before stepping down from the ladder to move it further down the length of the garage. Ben is working on gathering up the next section of lights when the neighboring garage rumbles open, a white Honda Odyssey pulling up into the drive.

“Oh, they’re back!” Rey exclaims happily, momentarily abandoning her decorations to greet her returning neighbors. The side door of the van automatically opens and a shaggy brown mutt scrambles out, running right up to Rey.

“Hey there buddy!” Rey says, kneeling down to greet the dog. The dog wriggles excitedly, trying to lick at her face.

“Down Babu! Down!” Finn is shouting, coming over to grab at the dogs’ collar.

“It’s okay, Finn.” Rey says, rubbing at the dog’s ears. “Babu is it? Where did you find him at?”

“The animal shelter.” Finn says. He places his hands on his hips and shakes his head down at the dog. “I knew going to see Rose’s family for Thanksgiving this year was a bad idea. They donate to a charity every year as a way to give back to their community, and this year they chose the animal shelter.”

“Let me guess. You thought you could get away without coming back with a new family member?”

“You guessed it.” Finn laughs.

“Oh good! You’ve already met Babu!” Rose says, coming around the other side of the van with Paige in her arms.

“Ba-ba.” Paige coos, her hands reaching down towards Babu. “Doh-gee.”

“That’s right, Paige! Doggie!” Rose says, bouncing Paige on her hip. Rose then eyes Ben as he hovers quietly next to Rey’s stepladder. “Um… Rey?” Rose whispers. “What is Ben doing over here?”

“Oh!” Rey looks over at him and he immediately looks away, suddenly very interested in checking the remaining lights for any tangles he may have missed. “He’s helping me with my decorations. He’s the perfect height for installing my Christmas lights.”

“Him? Helping you? With decorations?” Rose repeats in disbelief.

“Uh-huh.” Rey nods.

“Wow.” Rose says frowning. “That seems…” She purses her lips for a moment as she chooses her next words. “Out of character.”

“To be fair, we have an agreement.”

“An agreement?” Rose echoes, skeptically raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. He’ll help me put up my decorations and I’ll limit what I put out on the lawn.”

“Oh.” Rose says, still appearing unsure of the situation. “I guess that makes sense, him being such a grump and all.”

“He’s not grumpy.” Rey defends. “He’s just very serious about his position as H.O.A. President is all.”

Rose warily eyes Rey at this and Rey worries she may have given away more than what she was intending to. “Okay then.” Rose finally says, shrugging her shoulders. “Well, I’ve got to get inside and help get things set up for Babu. Talk to you later!”

“Bye!” Rey says, waving after her neighbors as they head inside, Babu bounding happily after Finn.

“Did you say anything to them?” Ben asks Rey quietly after she walks back up to him, stepping up onto the middle rung of the ladder to continue putting up the lights.

“I said you were helping me put up my decorations in exchange for not flooding the yard with dozens of inflatables.”

He hands her the next section of lights. “Is that all you said?”

“No, Ben. I also told them all about how I let you pound me with your massive cock.” Rey snarks, rolling her eyes.

“Just curious.” Ben mumbles, glancing cautiously at the house next door.

“Don’t worry, Ben.” Rey says, punching another staple into the overhang. “This is our little secret.”

><

“I think the Storms dog pooped on my lawn.”

It’s several days later and Rey and Ben are laying naked and sated in Ben’s oversized bed following a rousing romp of sex in his shower. He had taken her so hard from behind that he was afraid the shower door might crack, his cock still twitching at the afterthought.

“Where else is he going to go?” Rey replies, rolling over to snuggle up against Ben’s firm torso. “He’s not exactly trained to use the loo.”

“I mean I think he pooped on my lawn and they didn’t clean it up.” Ben clarifies. “There was clearly dog crap on my lawn this morning.”

“So why don’t you write them up a sternly worded letter?” Rey suggests. “You love those.”

“If I write them, I’m going to have to write every other person with a dog in the neighborhood.” Ben explains. “Theirs is the only new dog on this street that I’m aware of, so it must be from him.” Ben scoffs. “What kind of name is Bobby for a dog anyways?”

“It’s Babu.” Rey corrects.

“That’s even worse.”

Ben rolls over slightly and switches off a lamp, bathing the room in darkness, the only light filtering in through the blinds coming from the moon.

“Snuggle closer.” Rey murmurs to him, wriggling her lithe body under the covers. “Keep me warm. It’s supposed to snow tonight.

“I can think of something else we can do to warm up.”

“I have to get up early though.” Rey whines. “Are you still going to come over for dinner tomorrow?”

“As long as I get my audits completed on time.”

“All right. Is chicken okay?”

“You know that’s my favorite.”

“That’s why I’m making it.”

“You’re amazing, did you know that?”

“Yes. You told me so in the shower.”

“Well it’s true.”

Their lips meet in the dark.

“Goodnight Ben.

“Goodnight Rey.”

><

There is a knock on the door.

Ben puts down the kitchen knife and proceeds to wipe his hands off on a nearby towel. It’s too early for Rey to be coming over for dinner. After the delicious meal she had cooked him last week, it was his turn to return the favor of a homecooked meal and the dessert that would follow, specifically dessert of the non-food variety.

He opens the door, hoping that the surprise on his face isn’t evident. “Mr. Storm.” He says, politely nodding at his neighbor.

“Hey Ben.” Finn says awkwardly as he stands on Ben’s porch, hands shoved into the pockets of his coat. “You got a minute?”

“Sure.” Ben replies, stepping back from the door to allow room for Finn to enter. “Come in.”

He makes to gesture Finn into his living room when he pauses, catching sight of the bubblegum pink sweater left abandoned on his couch. Rey must have left it here when she came over last night, the two of them in too much of a rush to move things to the bedroom, Ben having had had his way with her on that very same piece of furniture. Ben hastily stuffs the sweater behind a pillow as Finn brushes his snow dusted shoes off on Ben’s doormat.

“Something I can do for you?” Ben asks, hoping Finn did not see him hide the evidence.

“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about pirates.”

Ben blinks at Finn. “Pirates.”

“Yes. Pirates.”

“Do you mean like Jack Sparrow? Or the baseball kind?”

“No, I mean porch pirates.” Finn explains. “You know, people who steal other people’s packages off of their porch after they’re delivered?”

“Oh.” Ben says frowning. “Has that happened to you? I’m not sure if the H.O.A. is who you should be reporting that to. Perhaps the delivery company?”

“No, no.” Finn says, shaking his head. “I’m just a bit worried because when I took Babu out for his morning walk, I happened to notice a trail of footprints in the fresh snow of Rey’s lawn. And there is one in yours as well.”

Ben pales. “Really?”

“Yeah. Have you been having any packages delivered lately?”

‘I’ve been delivering my package to my neighbor almost nightly’ Ben thinks.

“15 to 40 percent of online purchases are returned yearly.” Ben says. “So I prefer to do my holiday shopping in person.”

“Huh.” Finn says, his face full of worry. “Maybe whoever’s been sneaking around is just on the lookout for packages to steal then.”

“I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, Mr. Storm.” Ben says. “I’ll make a note of this on the H.O.A. boards website. In the meantime, I suggest you remain vigilant on keeping an eye out and call the authorities if you see anyone suspicious.”

“Good idea.” Finn agrees, nodding. “Thanks Ben.”

“You’re welcome.”

><

Something is off that night while Ben is fucking Rey.

She seems almost distant as he drives his cock inside her, her brown hair cascading across his pillows, her gaze fixed at the ceiling, a slight crease in her brow.

“Is something wrong?” Ben asks her, slowing his movements. “Am I hurting you?”

“What? Yes. I mean no.” Rey says, adjusting herself underneath him. “No, it doesn’t hurt. And yes, something’s wrong.”

Ben stills, his cock still buried inside her. “What is it?”

“I didn’t say stop.” Rey chides him.

They roll over so Ben is on his back now and Rey takes over, rotating her hips around his member.

“It’s your Christmas gift.” She tells him.

“I told you that you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know you did, but did you get _me_ something?”

She sucks him off and lets him cum on her tits. Of course he bought her a Christmas gift.

“Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

“See?” Rey sasses. “Anyways, Amazon alerted me that it was delivered a few days ago, but I never received it. I called customer service earlier today and they told me they would look into it.”

“Can’t you just order another one?”

Rey shakes her head as she rises and falls on his cock. “It won’t make it here in time. I already asked.”

“That reminds me of something.” Ben tells her. “Finn stopped by today.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Something about he’s suspicious about porch pirates stealing people’s packages.”

Rey gasps and he can feel her cunt squeeze around his cock. “Do you think someone snatched it from my porch?”

“I don’t know, but if Finn is worried about that, I’d say it’s certainly a possibility.”

“Those tossers.” Rey growls. “If I find out some git took your Christmas gift, they’re going to regret it.”

“I don’t need a gift.” He tells her, reaching up a hand to brush her hair out of her face. “Christmas will be special enough as long as I get to spend it with you.”

Rey leans down and captures his lips in a kiss. “You’re right.” She says as she returns to riding him. “Hopefully it just got lost in the shuffle of the post.”

><

It’s Christmas Eve.

Snow is falling, gently dusting the seven inflatables that are scattered about on Rey’s lawn.

Yes. Seven.

“But it’s Yoda in a stocking cap!” Rey had pleaded with Ben.

How could he say ‘no’ to that?

There was the inflatable reindeer barn with the eight original reindeer (take that, Ben!), the Grinch and Max in their sleigh, the Bumble from the classic ‘Rudolph’ film, Olaf the snowman from ‘Frozen’, the station wagon with a pine tree on its roof from ‘National Lampoons: Christmas Vacation’, and a Christmas version of Jack Skellington.

The icicle lights twinkled from the garage. Tinsel was sprinkled across the shrubs and big red bows divided the different sections of the garland that were strung across the porch. Multicolored lights trimmed the rest of the home, having been installed by a professional lighting company.

Smoke curls out of the chimney, Ben safely stoking the logs while Rey is occupied with making homemade eggnog in the kitchen. The doorbell rings, chimes of ‘Joy To The World’ echoing throughout the home.

“I’ll get it.” Rey says to Ben, setting down the shaker of nutmeg she had been holding.

The bells on the massive wreath crafted from traditional sphere ornaments jingle as Rey opens the door.

“Finn! Happy Christmas!” Rey greets her neighbor, a big smile on her face.

“Hey Rey. Merry Christmas.” Finn says, looking almost sheepish. “I uh… Believe I have something that belongs to you.” He extends a box emblazoned with the Amazon logo out to her. “Rose got out all of her gifts to wrap tonight and found this among them. The ink on the label’s faded, so I think the mail carrier confused ‘2189’ with ‘2187’.”

“I’ve been hoping this would show up!” Rey says excitedly, taking the box from Finn.

“Who’s at the door, sweetheart?” Ben calls from inside the house. “Is it someone from Amazon?”

Rey freezes as Ben steps into the doorway behind her.

“Beeeeeennnn! How did you get in here?” Rey exclaims, turning around to acknowledge his presence. She gasps. “Did you come down the chimney? Are you Father Christmas?”

“Hey Ben.” Finn says, a grin growing across his face.

“Hey Finn.” Ben replies. “Guess we found out who the porch pirate was.” He comments, nodding to the box in Rey’s hands.

“And I guess I found out whose footprints those were.” Finn replies. “Looks like Rose was right.”

“You mean she knew?” Rey squeaks.

Finn shrugs. “She had a hunch. Why else would Ben willingly put up decorations? No offense, man.”

“None taken.”

“Well, thank you for my order.” Rey says starting to close the door on Finn. “Have a good night!”

“Yeah, you too.” Finn says, unable to keep the smirk on his face from growing.

“Guess the jig is up.” Ben says to Rey, lightly shrugging his shoulders. “You should have used the driveway when you went home. At least the driveway is shoveled.”

“Excuse me, it’s quicker to cut through the yard.” Rey shoots back. She looks down at the box in her hands before holding it out to him. “Here.” She mumbles to him.

Ben peels the tape off the side of the box and rips into the package. From it he removes a personalized stationery kit with his name and address underneath the Hydian Way logo.

“For your strongly worded H.O.A. letters.” Rey explains as Ben admires the pad of paper.

“This is great. Thank you.”

“Sorry it wasn’t wrapped.” She says to him as he pulls her in for a gentle kiss.

“I’ll give you something not wrapped.” He mutters against her lips.

Rey giggles in response.

“I’ll come down your chimney too, if that’s what you want.”

“Only if I can call you Father Christmas.”

“Hmm. We’ll see.”

><

Seven Weeks Later

><

The day was finally here.

THE day.

The day Ben was finally going to tell Rey that he loves her.

And what better day to do it on than Valentine’s Day?

Ben was standing in line at the florist, waiting to pick up the two dozen red roses he had placed an order for a month prior. He even took a half day off work for the occasion just so that he would have enough to time to prepare a romantic evening for the two of them.

The work request was so shocking that Gwen and Hux had done nothing but pester him about it for the last two weeks, asking when they could finally meet the woman that had changed him for the better. They had also asked whether or not Rey’s passion for lawn decorations would be worked into a prenuptial agreement, but that was a hurdle Ben had yet to get to.

He still had to get through tonight.

He sighs, checking his watch again as he impatiently taps his foot. The line in front of him is four people deep. There is a poor sap holding everybody else up at the front of the line who seems to have placed an incorrect order for a bouquet of petunias instead of peonies. Flower sales attribute to 79 percent of Valentine’s Day sales. The guy should have done his research better.

Then again, no one was as smart as Ben.

His phone buzzes in his pocket and he jolts, surprised. He pulls it out of his pocket, Rey’s name flashing on the screen. He swipes to answer the call, turning away from the others in line in the hopes Rey can’t overhear the cashier listing what flowers she has left for the man at the counter.

“Hey sweethe-”

“Oh Ben! It’s just awful!” Rey sobs into the phone, cutting him off. “Get home – walk in – water everywhere! Don’t know – where it came from – emergency plumber on their way – carpet soaked – don’t know what to do-.”

“Slow down honey, I can’t understand you.” Ben says, leaning his head away from the phone. He checks the signal bar at the top next to the battery icon. Only one bar. Damn it.

Rey noisily sniffles on the other end of the phone. “Can – come over – as soon – you can?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He tells her through the phone, the line at the florist finally moving.

Another sniffle. “Okay.”

The call drops. Ben picks up his order and hurries home.

When he arrives in the neighborhood, he chooses to park in Rey’s driveway right next to the hideous yellow van with stopwatch decals adorning the sides and the back doors of the emergency service Rey has called. Rey’s garage is open, and he can hear her raised voice coming from inside the slightly ajar door that leads from the garage into the house.

“ _Excuse_ me!” Rey is saying to someone. “My _boyfriend_ has a _Masters degree_ in Actuarial Science. I’m sure _he_ would agree with me that your assessment is _absolutely_ preposterous.”

“Ma’am, I don’t know what else to tell you but-”

“Rey?” Ben calls out, walking into the house. There is an obvious squish to the carpet under his shoes.

“Oh thank God you’re here!” Rey says as she emerges from the laundry room across from the garage.

She is fresh from work, her Black Spire badge still hooked to the belt loop of her skinny jeans. Her hair is falling haphazardly from the three buns she had styled it in this morning. The black crew neck sweater she wears is one of his, one that he didn’t even know she had ‘borrowed’ from his ever-shrinking wardrobe. What little makeup she wears is smudged around her eyes from crying and her nose is blotchy red.

She is still so, SO beautiful.

“What’s going on here?” Ben asks.

“Looks like the water heater sprung a leak. Bottom pipe rusted clean through.” The portly repairman tells Ben. “The water heater will need replaced of course. The linoleum in the washroom will need to be replaced as well, and I highly recommend replacing at least twelve feet of carpet depending on how far the water damage has spread. That doesn’t even include replacing the bottom three feet of dry wall.”

“Do you hear this buffoon?” Rey snaps. “Twelve feet of carpet, my ass!”

“Rey. I’ll handle this.” Ben tells her sternly. Rey just glares and crosses her arms.

“Look. The water heater and the linoleum, I understand.” Ben says to the repairman. “But twelve feet of carpet is excessive, especially when the water damage hasn’t been standing for twenty-four hours. And as far as the dry wall goes – there is no evidence that the dry wall was even impacted and if it was, certainly not three feet worth. This is a leak we’re talking about. This isn’t flood damage.”

“SEE?” Rey practically shouts at the repairman, her head bobbing with an abundance of sass.

Ben pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Rey - I love you, but I told you I’ve got this handled.” He says swiftly before turning back to the repairman. “Now what do we owe you for your appraisal, if you can even call it that?”

The repairman just grumbles at Ben and scribbles on a yellow piece of paper, ripping it off the pad and handing it over with sausage like fingers. The repairman takes his leave, grumbling about them as he goes.

“We’ll need to call a _different_ emergency service.” Ben says, pulling out his phone and immediately scrolling through his contacts. “First we need to get this water out of the carpet so mold doesn’t set in. We can most likely take out the linoleum ourselves. It’s not too hard if you have the right tools, which thankfully I have. I’m not too sure how long it will take to get a replacement heater though.” He looks up at Rey, who has been oddly quiet since the repairman left.

She is staring at him incredulously.

“What?” Ben asks, lowering his phone.

“You said you love me.”

Ben freezes. “I… I did?”

“Yes.” Rey takes a step towards him, wiping at her face with the sleeve of his sweater. “You said, ‘I love you, but I’ve got this handled’.”

“Oh…” Ben says, his heart falling a little.

This wasn’t how he wanted things to go.

“Did you… Did you mean it?” Rey asks him quietly.

His head snaps up. “Of course I meant it!” He hurriedly says. “It’s just…” He looks out the door to the garage where his car sits alone in the driveway. “I’ve got flowers in the car.” He admits. “I was going to cook you a fancy dinner and everything before I told you. It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“I was so upset, I totally forgot about tonight.” Rey laughs.

“I just wanted the first time I said it to you to be special.” Ben says.

“It’s still special.” Rey assures him. “It’s coming from you.” She pulls him in for a kiss, his arms wrapping around her and holding her close. She pulls away from the kiss and looks down at the soaked carpet around them. “So much for a romantic night in I guess.” She sighs.

“We can still have a romantic night. Just after the wet-vac people leave.” Ben says, chuckling lightly. “But there’s still the issue that you don’t have a working water heater anymore. You can’t do laundry, dishes, or take a hot shower until it gets replaced.”

Rey loops her arms around Ben’s neck. “How long do you think it would take to get a new water heater?”

“It could be days. It could be weeks. We also ought to replace the linoleum before the new one is installed.”

“Hmmm.” Rey hums thoughtfully. “I suppose I could just do those things at your place in the meantime.”

“Or.” Ben says, feeling emboldened. “You could just move in.”

“Move in?”

“Yeah.”

“With you?”

“Who else?”

“What about the decorations?”

“What about them?”

“You hate my decorations. You would really want me to move in with you and sully your immaculate lawn with my inflatables?”

“I may hate your decorations, but I love you.”

“I love you too.”

His heart soars at the words.

“Is that a yes?” He asks.

“You’re lucky you live across the street.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“Yes, that’s a yes.”

They kiss again, ignoring the squelching of the carpet beneath their feet.

“One other thing.” Rey asks, holding a finger up to Ben’s lips. “If I move in with you, does that make me First Lady of the H.O.A.?”

“I think we have to be married for that to count.” Ben laughs. “So not yet.”

“Not yet?” Rey asks. She ponders this for a moment. “I like the sound of that.”

><

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who approved of an epilogue and provided a wonderful spark of inspiration.
> 
> *takes a bow*


End file.
